Hi all, had a quick search about gearbox problems in a Trafic van. It gets very technical very quickly and I know nothing about cars!
I'm looking to buy a 04 Trafic crew van but have been getting aprehensive after hearing some horror stories about gearboxes. Should I be worried? I also heard that in 2005, Renault upgraded the gearbox with stronger bearings. Could someone tell me if this is true and does it solve the reliability problems? If this is the case, I'll wait a while and change up to that year instead
Thanks
DOK

pk6 gearboxes do suffer from some bearing problems, but I would'nt say it's really that common. The trafic/vivaro/primastar is one of the most popular vans on the road. Unfortunately people don't come onto the forum and say" my Trafic's done 120k miles and the gearbox is fine", they only post when it goes wrong!

Having had the (dis)pleasure of repairing a PK6 box, I'd say make sure the gearlever doesn't move forwards/backwards as you take up the drive in any gear, as this is a sure sign that the shafts are moving around, which they shouldn't!

Oil level is critical on these, as is the correct (expensive) oil, so check for leaks around the driveshafts etc which could indicate low oil level..

Having said all that, once the box is out, it's a relatively simple repair to replace the problem bearings with new ones, from memory it cost me around £50 in parts to replace both sets..

PK6 gearbox is the 6-speed box fitted to trafics and lagunas and probably other things as well. Most gearboxes are improved throughout a production run, no doubt later ones are better than early ones, but conversely if it's been ok for 9 or 10 years it's probably going to be alright.

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